We have seen many different bumper designs for the iPhone but we have never seen one as thin and simplistic as this one. The AL13 is currently seeking pledges on Kickstarter and looks to offer protection for your iPhone without adding much bulk or spoiling its beautiful design either. The AL13 is made from aerospace grade aluminum and slides onto your iPhone without the need for screws or catches to hold it in place.

We designed AL13 for iPhone users like us who were searching for something to protect their phone without changing it into some strange-looking object that has no resemblance to the phone they bought in the first place.

AL13 is crafted from the finest materials and designed to protect your iPhone from bumps, knocks and scratches while seamlessly blending with its form. It’s tough and functional, yet so thin and light you’ll forget it’s there.

The AL13 has a soft rubber lining that acts as a shock absorber which will minimize the impact or your iPhone should you drop it. It also comes with a screen protector made from polyurethane which offers anti-scratch and anti-glare protection. The way the bumper fits to your iPhone is the most interesting part of the AL13. The back just slides on and locks into place without the need for any unsightly screws or clips.

The AL13 needs help through Kickstarter to become a reality; it is currently sitting at just over $18k and needs to reach over $20k to reach its funding target. Not much further to go and it still has 40 days left too. If you like the look of the AL13 you can be one of the first to get one, once they go into manufacturing. A pledge of $45 or more will get you one and they will come in a choice of colors from black, red or silver. There is even a special offer Kickstarter green variant available for those that would like to pledge a bit extra.

The design and function of the AL13 does look like it will offer a very minimalistic but strong way of protecting your iPhone without losing its good looks. One thing to take into account however is the signal loss when using this type of metal bumper. Tests show that it may reduce your signal strength by around 5-10%.

This reminds me of the Caseless Glide for the 4S that was also on Kickstarter. No matter what they say...all these kinds of bumpers will kill your reception. I love the look, but if I have zero signal..what's the point?

aerospace grade? got me thinking. Does stuff going into space really have aluminum covering it. Like will this withstand reentry or will it burn up? The space shuttle had special tiles. They totally should have used this aerospace grade stuff instead. And they could have shiny read space shuttles. Ooo shiny!

aerospace grade? got me thinking. Does stuff going into space really have aluminum covering it. Like will this withstand reentry or will it burn up? The space shuttle had special tiles. They totally should have used this aerospace grade stuff instead. And they could have shiny red space shuttles. I mean i'd guess satellites have lots of metal on the outside. And probably not designed for reentry. But still, shiny red space crafts. Ooo shiny!